Method of making novelty yarn



Dec. 16, 1958 MOORE, JR 2,8645230 7 METHOD OF MAKING NOVELTY YARN Filed June 2, 1953 INVENTOR.

BY Mm, 0A M v MM JTTORNE'YS 2,864,230 rmrrron or =MAKINGY NOVELTYYARN lThomas--B,..Moore,,.lr., Laurens, S. C.,Yassignor to: Peering Millikan ResearchCorporation fendleton, S. (1., neon rotat o v Delaware i Application June 2, 1 953, SerialNo;'359, -36

2 Claims (C1, 57 -157 This invention relates-to the artofnovelty yarns and has fonits( bject;the production of a novelty yarn having---twiste'd' loops or kinke'd tails projecting'fronr 'theyarn .at spaced intervals therealong.

The formation of novelty yarns by plying a strand of etfect yarn with a strand of core or carrier yarn is a ,YPL Ced-ure well known in the textile industry and many Systems have been-proposed forformingyarious. types of a novelty yarn,;such,as slubor nub yarn, boupl yarn, and

ratin yarn. In, all ofthe processes hithertofore advanced ,by workers in the art, in so far-v as I am aware, thedegree or extent, of twist which was initially inserted in the, two

strands was generally considered of little or no consequence, being of a normal or average value, say fiveto ten turns per inch and certainly no more than 20 turns per inch, and selected only with the idea in mind that the final yarn should be a balancedione, which is to say that it should not be lively and diflicult to manage.

"I have now 'found that by employing an -effect--yarn which prior to its combination with the carrier strand -'has been twisted to a -much higher value than that usually employed in-similar processes, I arnable to produce an "improved novelty yarn whichis radically different in appearance from the yarns heretofore obtained by the art.

A further object of the present invention is therefore to associate a highly twistedeifect strand with a -carrier strand insuch a manner as to format novelty yarn having at random spaced points along its len'gth'tightly twisted tails orkinked' protuberances of yarn extending in a general radial direction therefrom.

Other and further objects'and advantages will appear as the detailed description proceeds when read in connection with the accompanying-drawings in which Flgure l is a view, somewhat diagrammatic, of one arrangement by which the presentinvention may be practiced; and

Figure 2 is aview, greatly enlarged, of ashort section of'the improved novelty yarn.

In Figure 1 the numeral 11 designates the conventional feed-roll assembly of an Atwood B down- United States Patent a ,beingrrotatablytmountednon a 'bracket 35. A strand of r ,prio'r'topthe latters .passage over and around guide-like zpulley :21. ,Effectzyarn E.entwines around carrier yarn andmoveswith carrieryarn C down through guide eye 2'2: to.1,.the ring twistemspindle23.

upbinto twisted loopsto take up'the slack or-excessarid is wrappe'd in: this configuration around the'carrieryarn.

twister, which assembly consists of a pair of spaced parallel feed-rolls 12 and 13, one large and one small,

journal ed' in a'bracket '14- which is supported by an angle bar 15, the latter being secured to the frame of the twister 11, making one or'more turns or convolutions around rolls .12 and 13 so that it is in frictional contact with these rolls andcapable of being advanced thereby. From feed-roll. assembly 11, yarn C vmoves over and around. a

v 2,864,230 Patented Dec. 16,

,pulley-ljlike guide 21,:Zdown' through pigtailguide -ZZ and finally toia, conventional. rings-twister. spindle designated 23 which is rotatably driven in the usual fashion by means not shown.

Supported, byaa. cross member 31 above feed-roll" as- --sembly111 is an auxiliaryifeed-roll assembly32- consisting1ofcazroll 33:;d'riven in any desired: manner, as I for example by a sprocket, not-shown, on the end of the roll operativelycoupled with the sprocket 16, and a we'i'ght roll 34-:superposed. on feed-roll: 33, both of the rolls effecb-yarn E coming from a. source 36, and =passing through, a tension 'device:37,id rop wire eye 19 is gripped betweenfeed rolls =33 andr34 and advanced thereby, being introduceduto the carrier strand C at a point -just ,=In:.=accordance:.with the present-invention, it -is necessary thatgfeed=rolls133 and 34 =be driven at a higher rate of speed than are feed-rolls 12 and 13, so that-"as 'a (result thereaisans excess of effect yarn as compared tothe core-yarn. Since the nip of feed-rolls 33 and 34'is spaced ver-ticallyfronr thepaththe carrier yarn takes on zleavingithefeed-rolls 12 andlfi and moving to pulley- 1l-ikeqguide 21','a zone is created just prior to the point or locustof combination of the effectyarnwith't-he carrier yarn; atwhich: the yarn assumes a relaxed or slackened condition. Beinghighly twisted, the effect-yarn kinks As the tension in the cornbined strarfd is virtually all yborneiby. carrier yarn C,-'the twisted loops in effect yarn E are. not-pulled out as the yarn istaken up on the ring .twister spindle .23 but retain theirfull size and shape during passage throughthe balloon area of the spindle, ;under 1 the spindle traveler-and onto the spindle take-up package. 1 v

jIt'has beenfound that where the distancebetween the hips of the auxiliary feed roll assembly'and the locus. of

combination of the two strands exceeds about two to three inchesand the effect strand is allowed to move freely and unrestricted through the Zone defined, by these two points, there exists a tendency for the effect strand to kink up into relatively long tails, say two or more inches inil'ength. While in some instances tails of this magnitiude may be desirable, it is generally preferable that thcztails be shorter in length, say from one-eighth 'inch to one inch. This desideratum may be accomplished by providing a guide'bar 40 closely adjacent the path of the carrier strand just priorto pulley 21 and behind andrunder which'the eifect yarn passes, thus more or.,less fixing the locus at which the eifect'strand combines with the carrier strand, and mounting a circular porcelain guide eye 41 between and in general alignment with thenippoint and locus of combination through which the effect strand moves. By this means-the effect ,strand is held to-anessentially straight line path as it advances through the relaxation zone and is prevented from rolling up into excessively'long tails.

The unique appearance of thenovel yarn is clearly shown in Figure 2, effect strand E being entwined around carrier strand C with the twisted tails T projectingina general radial directionfrom the body of the yarn.-

An essential feature of this invention is the twist initially possessed by the effect yarn and I havefound it necessary to employtwists in the order of'that'known in the art as-crepe twist. As the name implies, this term indicates that range of twist usually inserted .in

.yarns which are'to be woven into crepe fabrics, and, in

the yarn will withstand without breaking. general range,'the particular twist to be. inserted in the twist into loops. .to a foot or more may be employed with good results 3 general, includes twist of from about 30 to 35 turns per inch up to about 125 turns per inch, or higher, the upper limit being determined only by the amount of twist which Within this effect strand maybe varied widely dependent upon the particular end result which it is desired to achieve. It

.has been found that the greater the amount of twist in serted in the effect strand, the more tightly twisted are the loops. and the harsher the hand' of the fabric made therewith. The'mannerin which'the twist is inserted in the effect strand is, immaterial but it must be inserted in the yarn prior to its combination with the carrier strand. A two-for-one twister spindle could, for example, be conveniently employed as the twist-inserting device.

The twistin the carrier. yarn is of little or no importance in the present invention since the carrier strand merely performs its usualLrole of functioning as a support or base for the effect strand. Thus, the twist in the carrier yarn may be that conventionally employed in plying operations, say of a low order from zero to 15 turns per inch. Similarly, the twist at which the yarns are plied togethermay be any reasonable or conventional value commensurate with standard plying practices.

In so far as it is known, the length or extent of the of the auxiliary or effect yarn feedf-rolls and the locus of combination of the yarns, is not critical, provided that the yarn is given a reasonable opportunity to kink or Thus, distances from several inches provided, however, if such distances exceed two or three inches guide means such as shown at 40 are provided to guide the effect yarn to the point where it commences to ply with the carrier.

As the successful practice ofthe invention appears to depend upon the extreme twist differential in the component yarns and the manner in which they are plied together, the. invention is virtually independent of the particular materials employed as the effect or carrier yarns.

Accordingly, any standard yarn which is available to the textile industry may be utilized regardless of whether it is staple or continous filament, so long as the yarn which is to serve as the effect yarn is capable of withstanding fairly high twist. The size of. the yarns may be varied widely dependent upon the characteristics which it is desired that the final yarn should possess.

The length and frequency of the twisted loops is, of course, controlled by the amount in which the effect yarn is overfed with respect to the carrier yarn and the location of member 40. Hence, by increasing the feed rate of the effect yarn while maintaining the rate of feed of the carrier yarn constant, longer tails may be produced, and by adjusting the position of member 40 a larger number of shorter tails may be formed.

To achieve the desired result, the effect yarn must be advanced at a rate greater than that of the carrier yarn. The particular feed ratio is, of course, a matter of individual choice, being dictated by the number and frequency of loops desired. The upper limit is defined only by practical commercial considerations since it will be apparent that there is a point beyond which the tails would be so long that fabric assembled therefrom would have no practical value, In general, I have found that feed ratios of from 1.2 through 2 to 1 may be used to good advantage. 7

When woven into cloth, the yarn'produced in accord- I [ance with this invention preferably constitutes the filling in a conventional warp. The fabric thus produced has an extremely unusual appearance as some of the tails during weaving become enmeshed with adjacent threads,

giving the appearance of slubs or nubs, while other of i the tails project from the face of the fabric. Such fabric is of particular utility as upholstery or drapery material and, in some cases, in garments for outerwear.

The following examples of the invention will illustrate the successful practice thereof:

Example 1 An effect strand of denier, 40 filament, viscose crepe yarn, having about 52 turns per inch of S twist inserted therein, is plied on the apparatus heretofore described with a carrier stand of 18 singles staple yarn, containing 8 percent acetate and 92 percent viscose, and having 12.75 turns per inch of S. twist therein, at a feed ratio of effect yarn to carrier yarn of 1.625 to 1, the carrier yarn being fed at 40 feet per minute. The ply twist inserted in the yarn is 9.2 turns per inch 8 with the ring twister spindle rotating at a speed of 5,000 R. P. M. The yarn has a knobby feel, having short loops of a length of. from about 4 to of an inch occurring at intervals along the vyarn from of an inch to about an inch and a quarter.

I Example 2 A strand of the same effect yarn as employed in F xample 1 is plied with a 100 percent viscose staple carrier yarn, having 16.8 turns of twist per inch in the S direction therein, at the same feed ratio as was used in Ex- Example 3 Example 2 is repeated with the exception that a feed ratio of 1.538 to 1 is employed, the rate of feed of the carrier yarn being 40 feet per minute and that of the effect yarn being 61.5 feet per minute. The loops on this yarn are smaller than in either of the preceding examples being of about a-sixteenth to a quarter of an inch in length and are spaced further apart, say from about one-half to one and one-half inches between loops.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the essence of my invention residesin associating a highly twisted effect yarn with a carrier yarn in such a fashion that the effect strand is permitted to relax or grow slack prior to its being plied with the carrier yarn and that the other details such as initial materials, size of yarns, ply twist, carrier yarn twist, etc., may be selected substantially at will in accordance .with well known standards of yarn twisting and throwing. Therefore I do not choose to be limited by the specific examples of the improved novelty yarn or the method of forming the same but only by the scope and spirit of the hereunto appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, that which 18 claimed is:

1. A method for making a novelty yarn which comprises passing a strand of effect yarn, twisted to such an extent that it tends to kink when permitted to relax, through a zone of relaxation, to thereby permit kinks to form in said yarn, while partially constraining said effect yarn at least at one point in said zone of relaxation to control the length of the kinks formed therein, and plying said efi'ect yarn, immediately after passage thereof through said zone of relaxation and without removing the kinks formed therein, with a moving strand of carrier yarn to form a plied strand having, at randomly spaced points, projecting twisted loops of said effect yarn.

2. The method of making. a novelty yarn which comprises withdrawing a strand of carrier yarn from a first yarn supply, simultaneously withdrawing a strand of hig-h ly twisted effect yarn from a second yarn supply, said efiect yarn being withdrawn at a rate in excess of the rate of withdrawal of said carrier yarn, passing said effect yarn into a zone of relaxation to allow the same to kink, partially constraining said effect yarn with guide means Within said zone of relaxation to control the length of the kinks formed therein, and thereafter, twisting together the kinked effect yarn and said carrier yarn to form a plied strand having, at randomly spaced points, projecting twisted loops of said effect yarn.

1 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Leonard Feb. 13, 1934 McGowan Apr. 16, 1935 Nutter et al. Oct. 19, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain of 1856 Germany Oct. 10, 1930 

